It was easier to change plans when it was forty bucks for an extended weekend. This year might be like a Dodger game where people come in the third inning and leave in the seventh, or it might not. The loose dust isn't going away, that's for sure.

Daily updates are finding their way to the boards, Desert_Rat, but it's not the sort of location that's given to easy updates. The people who are there have a job to do, the pre-game isn't live-streamed. Read the survival guide (or do it again if you read it at some point before now), read the reports, then go all in or fold. Your years of 'hard core desert camping' give you a little bit to go on (though high altitude camping's different, and the playa's a unique variant on that), think of it as a chance to put your skills to the test. You have a reasonably good chance of survival.

See now, it looks like it'll be clearing up just about the time I get there. And cooler too!

Desert-Rat, don't make the mistake a people did in 2008. Got in the city Monday, got hit by epic dust storm, high winds. Left Tuesday. Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday were pretty darn nice; not a lot of wind, and no city-wide storms.

Well, then it blew up again on the weekend. But by then we were pretty used to it.

Maladroit, I apologize; I was looking at the photo on my phone, saw the flag, and thought T-Dome.

It was smoke! I stopped by last weekend and I was like "gee there sure is a lot of dust in all of northern nevada *cough cough* *eyes water* * concrete boogers.* Can't wait to get to the W side where theres insane Sunday afternoon traffic from Truckee to the Pacific Ocean, and its 10 degrees hotter than in the fucking desert."

What part of Nevada is burning to make all this smoke?*EditI scrolled down.

"Friday 16 August: heavy smoke and haze from the RUSH fire 40 miles west, and the CHIPS fire 100 miles west southwest, of Gerlach " Holy Crap!!

Desert_Rat wrote:This is sounding less and less appealing. Seriously. And I've been doing hard core desert camping for over twenty years...but 40+ MPH winds every day and white outs with less than 100' visibility, combined with projectiles and shrapnel flying around.

Yes, but have you done these naked?

"The Red Baron is smart.. He never spends the whole night dancing and drinking root beer.. "-The WWI Flying Ace

For this weekend, low pressure approaches the Pacific northwest and brings a gradual increase in afternoon-evening winds and a slight cooling trend each day. By Sunday, some local gusts to 35 miles per hour will be possible in northeast California-northwest Nevada. With flow aloft primarily from the southwest, smoke plumes from existing fires should remain limited to areas north of Portola-Gerlach line, with improved conditions from Reno-Tahoe east across the west central Nevada basin. Did not include mention of smoke beyond Saturday night since projecting fire activity three or more days in advance becomes more uncertain. Some cumulus buildups are again likely south of Highway 50 Saturday, with fewer clouds in these areas Sunday as air mass becomes more stable with decreasing middle level moisture. Mjd

Long term...Monday through Thursday...

Overall synoptic pattern is narrowing in on a positively tilted deep trough, with dry southwest flow over northern CA/NV. There is still plenty of uncertainty in the timing and strength of the trough passage, but the overall trends are dry, windy and cooler for next week.

As for the timing differences between the models, the GFS is now the faster solution, with the trough swinging through the area late Tuesday. European model (ecmwf)/Gem both hold it back until Wednesday before pushing it east. Either way, we expect a period of stronger winds early in the week (best chances on tuesday). Fire weather conditions will need to be monitored closely, as strong winds and dry conditions may require statements. The good news is that a frontal passage middle week will bring cooler temperatures to the region. Started bringing down temperatures Tuesday-Wednesday as 700 mb temperatures drop to near 8 c, which typically leads to middle-upper 80s in western Nevada during the Summer.

captain mcguiver wrote:In 2006 I watched a ez-up-canopy tent fly 50 feet into the air like a tornado grabbed it and come crashing down into a girls chest. She got a free helicopter ride- to Reno ER.

In 2008 I saw the same thing happen, pretty much soaring above the Ghetto. From our vantage point in kidsville I would say it was well over 50 feet. Cant recall where it came down.

Ironically, we were using 2 ez-ups our-self. However, we used both 2' and 4' rebar, emt conduit, old sailboat halyards and a F150 to keep them down. Worked nicely. Though probably wouldn't have survived an Alpha.

Excuse me Ma'am, your going to feel a small prick._______________________________________

WOW. I'm sorry to bump this old thread, but I think first-timers, like me, should really see the pics/vids in here. That is freakin NUTS. Like balls to the wall nuts. I'm scared haha

So, in a storm like that, I would assume the best bet is to hop in your vehicle? I can't image many structures standing up to that. How about the regular LoveMonkey MH? Any chance of survival if it's properly rebarred with a gap between the sides and the ground, and open at both ends?

Alternatively, one could just take off running in the dust storm. That could be fun. But...flying pvc would probably impale you. And that's never fun for anyone. Unless you are an admirer of Vlad the Impaler. Then you may find amusement. But that would make you a sick fuck and sick fucks aren't generally too cool to be around.

Earthwalker wrote:WOW. I'm sorry to bump this old thread, but I think first-timers, like me, should really see the pics/vids in here. That is freakin NUTS. Like balls to the wall nuts. I'm scared haha

So, in a storm like that, I would assume the best bet is to hop in your vehicle? I can't image many structures standing up to that. How about the regular LoveMonkey MH? Any chance of survival if it's properly rebarred with a gap between the sides and the ground, and open at both ends?

A well done monkey hut will probably survive, and that's why they're popular.

Alternatively, one could just take off running in the dust storm. That could be fun. But...flying pvc would probably impale you. And that's never fun for anyone. Unless you are an admirer of Vlad the Impaler. Then you may find amusement. But that would make you a sick fuck and sick fucks aren't generally too cool to be around.

Sure, you can hop in your vehicle, if you don't mind cooling your heels indefinitely.

The first major dust storm I experienced was 4 hours long. It was my first year, so I relaxed and read a book while the roof of my tent performed interesting gymnastics above me. I don't regret that, but these days I tend to be a lot more active during storms. Then again, I'm poor at napping. (If you can nap anywhere, and need one, that might be an excellent use of your time. You can check the integrity of your camp, and then bed down.)

In 2008 there were two 8 hour windstorms, and I learned that my favorite new way of handling such things is 1) check how camp is holding up first 2) go meet the neighbors, and then go out dancing. If you shield your eyes, you'll (probably) be fine, so keep your goggles readily at hand.

*** 2017 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

In the wind you don't want a gap at the base of your walls. The wind velocity along the ground will be lower so that helps. In really bad prolonged storms, people have been known to leave the playa. It's a lot of fun to be with other people in a crisis and your probability of being struck by flying objects is quite low.

Dustdevils can produce winds in excess of 100mph, but will only last a few seconds to maybe a minute as they blow through pretty quick.

It seems to me that the failures come from tired people setting up and thinking "Thats good enough" when setting up needs to be taken very seriously just to keep from screwing up your Burn later in the week.

Open playa baby. That's where I spent the Friday (I think) afternoon storm last year working perimeter at the Wall Street Burn for no reason whatsoever. Nothing to blow around and hit you. You can feel the full force of it. As long as you have goggles and a mask, just enjoy it. Like a good rain when you're already soaked to the bone.

I like the idea of gifting in the storm. Going from each distant huddled couple to the next. Giving them a necklace or a scarf, (or a mask if they don't have one) and then fading into the dust never to be seen again. I'm going to try that next year.

Also, be prepared, but you're pretty unlikely to be killed by flying debris. It's not exactly a tornado.

My goggles almost never left my body except when I slept, but most nights I fell asleep with them atop my head. I didn't use them often, but it's def nice to know that if I needed to I can throw them on. (They also make a GREAT headband, if nothing else). The same with a scarf/bandanna attached to my body somewhere just in case.

I lost quite a few photos, but this was on Tuesday heading back from deep playa. I was heading into the storm, but took a pic from a distance so I could enjoy my ride. I think Friday night was the worst, but I don't have photos from it. I stayed in camp that night.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Illuminate. Navigate. Celebrate.What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

9ah wrote:I think Friday night was the worst, but I don't have photos from it. I stayed in camp that night.

We biked from Center Camp to Esplanade & 2:30 in the Friday white-out. We couldn't even see the work-lights around the man for a big chunk of it, and stumbled on a MV that was stopped & throwing a dance party somewhere halfway between the Man & 3. Stayed there for a bit, then let the wind continue pushing us to our destination. Decided that was too crowded, so we started moving back towards Center Camp, and discovered it was easy on the way out because the wind was behind us. Took forever to get back to camp, we pulled out drinks, and just partied in the RV all night (which I've mentioned before as being in my top 2 nights on the playa ever).

I thought I had a picture of outside that night, can't find it. Great time!

It's a camping trip in the desert, not the redemption of the fallen world - Cryptofishist

Earthwalker wrote:Alternatively, one could just take off running in the dust storm. That could be fun. But...flying pvc would probably impale you. And that's never fun for anyone. Unless you are an admirer of Vlad the Impaler. Then you may find amusement. But that would make you a sick fuck and sick fucks aren't generally too cool to be around.

Sure, you can hop in your vehicle, if you don't mind cooling your heels indefinitely. /[quote]I advise against it. In 2005 I was out with Robbidobbs and not enough water. We sat in the back of her truck, under the camper shell, and afterwards I went to REMSA and then had a ride to Reno. I was so dehydrated that I took 6 liters of saline. During the day, even in white out conditions, cars are heat traps.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri